Health expo

Sunday

HOUMA -- Terrebonne Parish School Board members will rate the job performance of the superintendent this week, an annual evaluation that remains despite criticisms of the process.

The evaluation will take place during a closed-door session 6 p.m. Tuesday at the school system office, 201 Stadium Drive, Houma.

Superintendent Ed Richard, who is entering the last year of his contract, will give a presentation on the school system before the meeting. That portion is open to the public.

Residents and board members have questioned the validity of the evaluation in the past. Though board members revised the checklist of questions that guides their critique, the processhasnít changed.

Hereís how it works:

Board members fill out a 60-question form that asks them to rate Richard on his leadership ability, communication skills and his relationship with the board.

During Tuesdayís executive session, Richard will meet with board members to discuss the evaluation face-to-face.

The board membersí forms will then be combined into a single critique of Richard that can result in one of three possible rankings: "satisfactory," "needs improvement," or "unsatisfactory."

School Board members have debated whether the process holds the superintendent accountable for his job performance. Test scores, teacher recruitment and other education-related topics are absent from the evaluation.

In the past, evaluations have not affected whether a superintendentís contract is renewed.

In 2004, Superintendent Liz Scurto was fired about eight months after she received a "satisfactory" rating on her performance review. Last year, board members deadlocked when voting over Richardís contract renewal and allowed it to expire.

He later won a two-year contract by a slim margin. Both before and after the dispute over his contract, the board gave Richard the same "satisfactory" rating on the evaluation.

In March, the board revised the evaluation form, rewording questions and shuffling items into different sections.

Board member L.P. Bordelon, who proposed the changes, said the new form gauges board membersí opinions rather than asking generalized queries. For example, one category changed from "Exhibits harmonious relationship with board members" to "Maintains open lines of communication with the board member."

Some board members said the changes are cosmetic. No matter how they rate him, the superintendent will earn a "satisfactory" because each question has equal weight, they said.

A question regarding his "good health, appearance and attitude" has the same weight as one about his ability to monitor "progress of instructional programs."

"It wonít be any different," said Hayes Badeaux, board president. "Itís almost impossible to give someone an unsatisfactory evaluation the way itís constructed."

ŽWho better to fix it?í

If nothing else, some board members say the evaluation process allows them to let Richard know where he can improve.

"It is designed to relate your true feelings to him and to tell the superintendent what youíd like to see done," Bordelon said.

Issues that have plagued the school system this year include the short-staffed transportation department. After the board accepted Richardís recommendation to keep the department under the systemís management, the board members charged him with studying the department and making improvements.

Bus drivers filled board meetings to voice their dissatisfaction with the departmentís management and questioned whether they would lose their jobs if the department were contracted to an outside firm.

In May, the board struck down several suggestions Richard made to improve transportation and tasked him with making a plan to reorganize the department.

Several board members said the transportation issue would affect their evaluation.

"Weíve been dealing with this for the last three years," said board member Roosevelt Thomas. "Who better to fix it than the superintendent?"

Badeaux agreed the issue will likely affect how the superintendent is rated this year.

"That transportation department can really shock this system if we donít do something quickly, and we are depending on him to do it," he said. "Throwing more money at the department is not going to solve the problem."

Will it affect his contract?

While the evaluations are confidential, some board members have openly expressed their opinion of the superintendent.

"As far as Iím concerned, heís doing a satisfactory job," Bordelon said. "Whatever the other guys do is their business. Itís very confidential."

Others arenít as confident in his performance.

"I canít see him doing anything in the next few months that will bring him a satisfactory performance evaluation," board member Rickie Pitre told The Courier in March when the board was deciding whether to revise its evaluation form.

Badeaux said despite the evaluationís flaws, board members will express their unbridled opinions during the executive session.

"Iím sure board members are going to tell him some things we arenít happy with and weíll see if he does something about it," he said. "Not everyone is going to have a glowing review of him. Iím sure of that."

Staff Writer Matthew Pleasant can be reached at 857-2202 or matthew.pleasant@houmatoday.com.

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